Traveling the World Through Others
My son and I have been running nightly for the last week. He’s much faster than I am, so we walk to our starting spot and then he takes off. I jog casually behind him until he is done. After he runs his distance at his own pace, he turns around to meet me and…
Read MoreEvery morning I walk out to my garden with my cup of coffee to look at the progress my plants have made during the night. It reminds me of when my boys were little and I would constantly check on them to just make sure they were okay. Unlike with my kids, when I am…
Read More
As I have discussed before, I am in the midst of tending to my first real garden. My husband created nine garden boxes and threaded together my vegetable and flower labyrinth. Last week the plants really started exploding, and everywhere I look, I see tall green stalks and fat, ripening fruit and veg. We are…
Read More
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William A. Ward Every student who is training to be a teacher is asked to write about your favorite teacher. This rather creative assignment is often followed by a similar one that asks you to write about your…
Read More
My life as a teacher started officially when I was 26. It metaphorically began when I first started giving spelling tests to my stuffed animals. Twenty years later, I can say I have learned many things, and I have had many preconceived notions of what it means to be a teacher ripped away. It took…
Read More
Toxic masculinity refers to the masculine “traits” that so often describe men. Masculinity has long taken pride in its high levels of physical strength, emotional detachment, and brute force. But these traits can quickly become dangerous when left unchecked. Brute force can easily turn into an unmitigated violence. Emotional detachment can spiral into an inability…
Read More
This is not “my” question. I just read it in the book 101 Essays that will Change the way You Think, but I think it’s a great question. It has really made me think. One word? To everyone in the world? Crazy, right. The first word that comes to me is LOVE, in caps, just…
Read More
The word ‘mercy’ has its origins in French as well as old English. It means to grant forgiveness to the seemingly undeserving. In his book Just Mercy, Brian Stevenson writes, “The power of just mercy is that it belongs to the undeserving. It’s when mercy is least expected that it’s most potent—strong enough to break…
Read More
My son Cole is 14 years old and has been in his first “real” relationship for about six months now. Last night he turned to me and said that he is really having a tough time adjusting to a long term relationship. “What do you mean?” I asked. I was not sure what he was…
Read More
Going to work has been tough. I love my job. It gives me “the feels” everyday, but I am exhausted and burned out like so many educators. But in this moment of what feels like madness, the Universe has sent me light. This morning I received a text from my TA. She is going to…
Read More
The Wandering Empath 